A new look to our forum

[Steve Ashton]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When you wake up on Monday morning and log into X Marks you will see something a bit new, a bit different.

I made a couple of promises to you a few months ago. One of those promises was to get the software package that the forum runs on fixed. There had been many modules and templates added to the forum over the years and some of these were causing conflicts with each other. Many of you have experienced these conflicts more and more over the past few weeks.

In the last several months I have been trying to find someone who is an expert in working with the vBulletin software package. My search paid off when I met Chris of "vB Skin Zone". Chris is not only incredibly knowledgeable with the software but I found him a delight to work with. He and I have been working together for the last six weeks creating a website without the software conflicts, and with room for plenty of future growth.

Another promise I made was to upgrade the Advertising Plan of X Marks. The Plan had been static for quite some time because there was simply no room for additional advertisers. We now have four different levels for advertising. The newest level is what we call the Hobbyist Level. This should give small or start-up companies a cost effective way to have a presence on the web. Over the next week I will be contacting all our current advertisers and all those who have inquired about becoming an advertiser with the details of the new plan.

And finally I promised to do my best to make the decision making process of the Staff of the forum as honest, open, and transparent as I could.

Three of the new things you will see in the new website are located on the upper navigation bar. We have added direct links to our Rules, the FAQs and to an introduction to the members of the Staff.

I encourage you all to look over these new sections. Our Rules are now simpler, easier to read and understand. Our FAQ's will cover far more than just the few acronyms that we had before, and now include such things as how to add a photo to your posts. Getting to know the members of our Staff has always been difficult. They oversee the forum and it is important that you know who these people are. By clicking on "Meet the Staff", you will be directed to the biographies of each of the Moderators.

Along with these changes we have a new look to the forum. We have moved the X Marks Tartan to the title bars of the forum instead of being hidden behind it.
Yes, some will find that the new layout will take a while to become comfortable with, but I hope that the layout will be similar enough to what you are used to to make the learning curve short.

You might remember that I announced a photo contest for the photo to be used on the front banner, behind our forum Logo. As a place holder I have added a photo that was taken at the Handover Ceremony; this can be changed, and I welcome submissions of other photos.

Please take some time to look over and enjoy the new look and style to the forum. As always if you find something that is not right, a broken link or a typo, please contact me immediately.

I will open a separate thread to allow you, the members, to post your thoughts and comments on the new style.